You weren’t invited to the party pal. Full disclosure, I have come to terms with a simple truth, I absolutely hate taking pictures for my blog. It has delayed this post by, over a month, which when I say it out loud sounds omega lame. So while I have my mojo back for writing, my…
Category: Beauty
Oh, hello there.
I’m transitioning from a snack to a whole meal. I feel like I’ve lost my voice. I haven’t used it in a while, so understandably it would go wandering off. This is draft number eight, fingers crossed this is the one I finally hit publish on. Blogging used to be so easy, so much fun…
Brand Review | 23.5 °N Gel Masks
The best wash off masks are the ones with an interesting texture. These masks were provided to me by one of my sponsors, Moonimask. Read my full disclosure here. About the Brand Located at 23.5 °N, Tropic of Cancer passes through 16 countries in the world, covering mostly desert and grassland areas. Southern China and…
First Impressions | Sunday Riley Good Genes & Luna
Damnit. The following is just a first impressions post of these two products, read more about my testing process here. The Power Couple kit was high on my list of things to purchase in Sephora during my #NYC2K17 vacation. Sure, $85 is steep for a deluxe kit, but at least I could try it, debunk…
Review | Son & Park Beauty Gel
Am I late to the party, because this product has been out for a while.. Packaging The packaging is simple, functional and sturdy, which is an aesthetic I personally love. Very simple and model chic. Texture & Smell It feels and smells like rose hand sanitiser, there’s no nice way to put it. Claims A…
Box Review | Inspire Me Korea x Whamisa
Inspire Me Korea is a relatively new UK based Korean Culture Box company, founded in September 2015 and launched in February 2016. From their website, their goal is to, ” provide fun items like food and beauty, but also provide a context to the products and an educational spin to subscription boxes, so each of…
Review | Atoclassic Real Tonic Masks
Hanbang your life. Atoclassic is a brand that caters primarily to those with sensitive skin and suffering with atophy (new word for me). So they’re like a Korean Aveeno, Oilatum and Dermaplex but with Hanbang (한방, Korean traditional medicine)! After months of reading Cat from Snow White and the Asian Pear (the Queen of Hanbang)’s posts on hanbang, I…
My A+Facial Cleansers
I think in product categories, which means I try not to get too attached to products themselves, instead looking at product function. So while I might have a favourite oil cleanser, or favourite acid toner, I have others that work well enough that I wouldn’t hate if I had to use them. That said, I…
Where are the shades, Max Factor?
As a darker skinned woman of colour, I learned the hard way that the majority of the brands selling affordable foundation (under £15) just didn’t see me. My only options were higher end brands which meant makeup was not an everyday product for me. Frustrated by the lack of options, I’ve just stopped looking, but it’s been…
If the darkest base makeup shade you carry is beige, you need to do better.
For a long time I didn’t wear makeup because I was acutely aware that to most makeup brands I was invisible. Then cushion foundations came along, and for someone who was pretty scared of makeup, they were an easy way to jump into the world of undertones, blending and contouring without feeling overwhelmed. Sure there…
What’s in my travel bag?
While my cousin is the true globetrotter my desire to always be prepared means for short overnight and weekend trips, I have three travel bags, all packed and ready to go. One for skincare, one for bodycare and another containing sanitary products, but you’re most interested in the skincare aren’t you? I knew it. Though,…
Here is my skincare.. modesty?
Today in the blogparty we’re talking about vanities! Or.. lack of vanities. Turns out, we don’t all actually have those pretty vanities that we see in movies or on television! Laven does though, and I am currently pawing at the screen trying to find a way to make it mine. Soooo preeeetyyy *pawpaw*. What I…
Letting go of clutter: Skincare Samples
Hauling Responsibly is one of my most read posts. It blew up in a way that I did not expect, and inspired others (who then inspired me) in ways I could not have predicted. So I decided to do a little check up and see if I’m sticking to the guidelines I set out for myself….
Review | Superdrug Simply Pure Hydrating Serum
Ceramides, cera-what? I’ve been using this serum for about a year now, and gifting it to as many people as I possibly can. There are very few products that 100% deliver on what they promise, so finding one feels pretty awesome. It’s even more amazing when such a well formulated product is an own brand,…
Managing my Skincare Concerns
Yay, the first Blog Party content post! Today we’re talking about our skin concerns and how to manage them. Right at the top of my blog I have a page that talks about my Skin Type, Concerns and Shade, but the information is really minimal. So I’m really glad to be able to elaborate on those a…
My Favourite Sheet Masks
The first time I used a sheet mask, I was confused.. It probably didn’t help that I wasn’t ever really blown away when I used them. Others would go gaga over masks, having spiritual awakenings about the process and effects, yet I couldn’t understand what made them so exciting. “Sure masks are fun, but are…
Brand Review | Vivant Skincare
Today’s key ingredient is Mandelic Acid. I received all the products discussed below free of charge directly from Vivant Skincare in return for my honest and unbiased review. “Providing solutions and results, Vivant Skin Care has been creating innovative, medically proven formulas for over 40 years. Dr. James E. Fulton, who co-developed Retin-A, has been developing…
Brand Review | Eucerin DermoPURIFYER
Back when my skincare purchases were based on flashy claims on packaging, Eucerin’s DermoPURIFYER white and green clinical boxes with simple promises did little to entice me, so I ignored them. Oh how wrong I was! I’ve found the products in this range to be simple, effective and cost efficient. Their website is a treasure trove of…
Interview with Amy from peepingpomeranian.
*enthusiastically bodyrolls* Hallo all! Welcome to another installment of the funtime blog party! Today, I interview the lovely Amy who blogs at peepingpomeranian. I was super excited to be interviewing Amy, as her reviews are so detailed and knowledge based, plus her instagram pictures are always so cute! Why did you chose the name ‘peepingpomeranian’ for your blog?…
Blogging with friends!
Hey look, I made friends! See Mom, I can do it! Sophie (who’s a fellow Brit!) reached out to all of us, wondering if we were interested in a blogging collaboration extravaganza. We all said yes, and here we are! In the following weeks, we’ll be blogging together, group reviews, interviews and all sorts of…
Missha Time Revolution Clear Toner
Introduction Although my routine is a category based routine, where I place more emphasis on product function over brand name or type, I realised that there are certain products that I always gravitate to. It’s just that they’re not always available cheaply, or even at all so I’ve set out on a quest to try…
Blogging about Asian Beauty for a Western Audience.
Happy Media Monday! Today was going to be a review on 4Minute’s new song Hate, but then something came up so that’s not going to happen. Oh well, okay if you must know! The song is okay, not as good as their previous release Crazy but after a while the weak drop (and it is…
Review | Cremorlab Aqua Essence Water Fluid
Hmm. Ever wanted to try a brand so much that you ignore the negative reviews and your better judgement because packaging? No? Let me introduce you to Cremorlab. Why I was excited! Have you seen the packaging? I mean, seriously, look at it. Look at how classy and sexy it is! Have you not eyes?! I…
Battle of the Self-Foaming Cleansers
Although my routine is category based, where I place more emphasis on product function over brand name or type, I realised there are certain products that I always gravitate to. I’ve associated effects I want with the products themselves. In some cases this is fine as they are easy to acquire, in other cases, they…
Organising skincare into Product Categories
I decided to manage my skin care routine and finances more efficiently when I went through my product stash and realised I didn’t have a sensible selection of products for my actual needs. I had like four different moisturisers in various states of use, one cleanser I didn’t like very much and a toner I was ignoring…
Review | Serendi_Beauty Sparkling CO2 Mask Pack
Why should brides have all the fun? ❤ You know? I know very little about this brand. I kind of appreciate that there’s no great lore or epic story (in English anyway). As far as I can tell, this is a home spa brand, they only have two products available in the West and I…
The Undupeables: My Seven Skincare HGs
I’m writing up my current routine (I know, it’s finally happening!). It took me a while to figure out how to lay it out because I don’t really go by product, I go by product category or function. So, if I want to wash my face depending on what time of day it is, if…
Brand Review | Hada Labo
Hada Labo is ❤ There really isn’t much to say that they haven’t already said. Hada Labo appealed to me because of it’s ultra simple approach to skincare in each product. In a marketplace where it seems like a product has to be everything and do anything it is refreshing to find a brand that says,…
Review | L’Occitane Crème Divine
Is it really so wonderful? -x- This is an old review that’s been sitting in my draft for two years. So I thought, why not publish it? Did you know that beauty brands have flagship products? Because, I had no idea. This product is such a big deal to L’Occitane, this is reportedly their number…
Review | Clabiane W-Line
Cla- who? A few months ago, I discovered that a friend of mine in Korea started her own company as a Korean cosmetics retailer. We started talking and she asked me if I would consider blogging for her site Kokofash. I said sure! And she sent me the items over. However, due to the reasons…
Buying Asian Beauty in the UK
I do most of my Asian Beauty shopping online, but customs charges mean I’m limited in what I can buy. Even if the seller has sales, and does offers on shipping I have to be mindful that I’ll be hit with customs charges if I go over a certain limit. It doesn’t matter if they mark…
Blogger Boundaries ft. Snow White and the Asian Pear
There have been some really awesome thought-provoking discussions flying around the International Asian beautyblog community, sparked by posts like: How My Elaborate Korean Skincare Routine Helps Me Fight Depression by 50 Shades of Snail, Skincaretainment: Connection & the culture of Korean Beauty by fanserviced-b, and Thoughts on Hauling Responsibly, & Skincare as a Hobby by Snow White and…
How to Beauty Haul responsibly.
I know this is a party pooper topic that no-one really wants to talk about, but it really is important. I know from experience how easy it is to get yourself swept away. It’s so easy to reach for your wallet to spend spend spend when you see rave reviews, first looks, unboxings and the like from bloggers or…
Figuring out your skincare triggers.
The hardest skincare lesson I’ve had to figure out is that you never stop figuring out your skincare triggers. You just don’t. Your environment changes, your diet changes, your body changes, you’re in a constant state of change, so obviously your skin will change. There is no easy way to figure out what your triggers…
Easy How To Event Free Samples from Innisfree World.
This promotion is no longer active. About a month ago, I heard that Innisfree was giving out a free sample set though their “Easy How To” event, you can find the link here. It is a really easy to do tutorial, but can be a little finicky, so if you have an add blocker installed,…
My Cushion Foundations for Dark Skin.
Hello to everyone that found my blog from My Asian Skincare Story’s post! Welcome to my blog. I’m sure you’re interested in which cushions for dark skin I’ve tried and how they’ve worked for me so far right? Obviously! Here’s a compilation of the cushion foundation products I have tried for dark skin. For reference, my true to…
DIY | Missha Magic Cushion & YSL Foundation
I finally bit the bullet and ordered the Missha Magic Cushion case (their DIY cushion case, not their filled bb cushion) and filled it my old YSL Perfect Touch foundation. Oh, how I had coveted this foundation. I loved the idea of the convenience of it all as it came with an inbuilt brush. You can…
Review | COSRX Natural BHA Skin Returning A-Sol.
Propolis? I was a little surprised to find an effective BHA in Asian Skincare due to the strict regulation of Salicylic Acid limiting what can be sold in over the counter products. But! Excited as always to try new things, I gave this a go. Claims
Review | Lancôme Miracle Cushion 06 Beige Moka.
My goodness! It’s arrived, the cushion is here! I planned to buy it at Boots to collect the points, but the nice lady at Debenhams was so charming and helped my mother and I work out some discounts so thought we’d give the sale to her. The power of customer service! This is the first…
Review | Holika Holika Pro:Beauty Bloody Oil Tint
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve always thought of Holika Holika as the Urban Decay of Asian Beauty. I think that impression comes from their use of a similar shade of purple, and the cool and edgy vibe that they both give out. This is my first product from them and so far, I’m super…
Review | COSRX Galactomyces Alcohol-Free Toner.
All ferment, no niacinamide. COSRX are a brand that have been on my radar a little bit for a while now. They’re really exciting because they’ve brought out a few acid products that seem to be effective (right percentage and pH). I got a few samples in a recent RoseRoseShop package, so I thought I’d…
Cushion Foundations: Kiko & Laneige
I’m following up my First Look with Kiko Cushion with a more indepth in store review. Ultimately, I decided not to buy it, but although it isn’t right for me I think it’s a fantastic product that holds it’s own well next to the original. With my Laneige Cushion in tow, I walked into Kiko…
First Thoughts: Kiko Cosmetics CC Cushion in Neutral 90
What?! Another Cushion Foundation for PoC? I’m tripping out everywhere. This one really took me by surprise because I know Lancôme is releasing a Cushion Foundation with a darker shade that I have my fingers crossed for (read that review here) but I had no idea anyone else was making cushions for darker skin tones….
Review | Etude Dust Cut Mist & Finish Cream.
Yellow Dust is gross and inescapable, which is why Etude House developed the Dust Cut range to combat it. They aren’t the only company to do so, but I saw their segment on Get it Beauty and Picoprince’s review and I was sold. The idea of the range is to create a barrier between your skin…
Hauling through the Holidays
Tis the season of spending and spending excessively, but when you live in the UK there are limits to what you can order from outside of the EU without running into additional fees. When I see bloggers in North America order huuuge hauls like, I feel like there should be a big warning sign for people in…
Avene Cleanance K bites the dust.
Once I’d found a good cleansing routine, I started to look into exfoliation. I knew that scrubbing my skin really wasn’t helping, so I started looking into chemical exfoliation. There are two types of chemical exfoliators: AHAs (Lactic Acid, Glycolic Acid & Mandelic Acid) are prefered dry skin because they exfoliate on the surface of skin and have…
Final Asian Skincare Haul of 2014
Argh! Remember I said I was done hauling for this year? Well, I may have overstated that a little bit. This is the final haul of 2014, actually this is the final haul till I go to Seoul in May 2015. I don’t have anything else to buy, I’m sheet masked up and I have…
The Laneige BB Cushion Puff appears to be antibacterial!
After I posted my review of Laneige’s BB Cushion in r/AsianBeauty, I got a lot of comments telling me I really should try the puff applicator it comes with because that’s the way of applying the product. My reservations about using the puff came from their claim that it was antibacterial. Companies claim all sorts of…
Review | Vichy Normaderm Night Detox
Product 2 that’s empty! Let’s go! I bought this product at the suggestion of a sales assistant in Boots because I had a 3 for 2 but no idea what I should add for free. Besides the Divine Cream, I’d never really used a separate day and night cream, so this is my first night cream.
Review | L’Oreal Skin Perfection Miracle Cleansing Oil
I’ve talked a little about this cleansing oil in my general cleansing review, but now I’m almost finished with my second bottle, and on my way out to buy a third I thought I should write a more indepth review about why I love this cleansing oil so much.
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